only if you would do it (almost every) day for a long period of time aka abusing alcohol. alcohol is then known to be ototoxic but certainly not from drinking from time to time even if it's heavy drinking I would say.

Andy, I'm a heavy drinker, when i first got tinnitus last year I got drunk every night for 6 months, my tinnitus stayed the same, didn't change a bit, have fun, give the tinnitus bully 2 fingers , Merry Christmas.

only if you would do it (almost every) day for a long period of time aka abusing alcohol. alcohol is then known to be ototoxic but certainly not from drinking from time to time even if it's heavy drinking I would say.

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Heavy drinking, even everyday for a year never affected my tinnitus, only loud noise has done that so far!

Heavy drinking, even everyday for a year never affected my tinnitus, only loud noise has done that so far!

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as I said before, you don't really know about that. maybe alcohol did damage your cochlea. Alcohol is known to be ototoxic just as many other medications, too, so I wouldn't risk it with my Tinnitus to go on and drink heavily for years, but of course everybody thinks about this topic differently and everybody can choose what to do or not to do with their Tinnitus. Also what helps one Tinnitus sufferer or makes it worse for one doesn't need to have the same effect on someone else. I can say for myself that I wouldn't risk it.

Thanks guys... I just wanted to have an idea about how much alcohol really affects tinnitus...Probably I'm not the only one, but I do get paranoid after doing an activity (one which I don't do often and normally a little self-harmful) thinking that my tinnitus might have gotten worse...Normally it doesn't and it's just me being paranoid. It's just that (as you all know) tinnitus is at its worst when you're obsessively thinking about it.

I had few drinks last night and T has spiked lil bit .
Last night I was in the car and some one closed to door very loudly ..so I am not sure of slamming door caused it or alcohol .
I hope I don't get increased T like mick had gotten after he slammed car bonet .
What do you Guys think ?i hate worrying about this kinda stuff ..I was so annoyed that I wasn't ear plug when i knew I should have worn it when I sit in some ones car !

Sean,i think a little bit of both, alcohol always spikes the t, well for me anyway!!! i know you're thinking of Mick regarding the car door slamming and it might have a part to play in your spike let's hope not!!! this is why i never leave my house without being plugged, others say well your asking for trouble ie hiperacusis etc, but i know how easy it is to come across loud noises that will put me over the edge!!! so i choose to plug, I hope your spike has lowered by now as you posted hours ago, let me know as i'm sure it was probably the alcohol that spiked you.

Carol- thank you .
I think I will find out tomorrow .i don't think closing car door will spike ..that just doesn't make sense ..I think I am being paranoid .
I just hate that we have to worry about stupid things like this .
Thank you for your reply .

Sean, I don't want you to be paranoid because my tinnitus increased from a car bonnet slamming shut, I was fine with shutting car bonnets 50 times before, doors slamming shut, balloons popping, plates smashing, didn't affect my tinnitus. It happened because the bonnet was very heavy, it was that loud when slamming shut it sounded like a shotgun going off, my brother who was in the house thought it was a car crash outside. It would have increased anyone's tinnitus, it sounded easily 120 decibels, maybe more. I dropped it to high up, totally avoidable.

A car door slamming shut wouldn't increase my tinnitus, getting drunk every night for 6 months straight never affected my tinnitus, the noise that increased my tinnitus sounded like a gun going off, I'm confident I'm not going to come across a noise like that again, that is why I never wear earplugs walking down the street anymore, there's no need, the only possible noise that could affect my tinnitus is a siren going past but normally you can see them coming so you can stick your fingers in your ears.

Sean, I don't want you to be paranoid because my tinnitus increased from a car bonnet slamming shut, I was fine with shutting car bonnets 50 times before, doors slamming shut, balloons popping, plates smashing, didn't affect my tinnitus. It happened because the bonnet was very heavy, it was that loud when slamming shut it sounded like a shotgun going off, my brother who was in the house thought it was a car crash outside. It would have increased anyone's tinnitus, it sounded easily 120 decibels, maybe more. I dropped it to high up, totally avoidable.

A car door slamming shut wouldn't increase my tinnitus, getting drunk every night for 6 months straight never affected my tinnitus, the noise that increased my tinnitus sounded like a gun going off, I'm confident I'm not going to come across a noise like that again, that is why I never wear earplugs walking down the street anymore, there's no need, the only possible noise that could affect my tinnitus is a siren going past but normally you can see them coming so you can stick your fingers in your ears.

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Thanks mick- I feel lot better now .
I am also so glad to hear you are doing better .i knew you will cope and you did !

Also, I got blocked ears for a week after, just like when I first got tinnitus through fire alarm exposure, what the blocked ears are is temporary threshold shift, temporary damage to your hearing, that's why I knew this spike was permanent, very loud noise the brain notices!

Thanks mick- I feel lot better now .
I am also so glad to hear you are doing better .i knew you will cope and you did !

Have a blessed 2014.

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Thanks sean, have a happy new year yourself, I am used to this increased tinnitus now, I can sleep fine, I'm no longer depressed, anxious, once a little time passes your reaction dissapears, the brain ignores the noise, back to normal. Take care buddy.

I admire your way of looking at tinnitus Mick... What I'm worried about is that most people are focusing on not worsening their tinnitus and not doing much to actually decrease it...which is possible. Last summer I went to the gym everyday and the tinnitus decreased noticeably. This gym thing was combined with eating a lot of minerals and vitamins and avoiding stuff like sugars, fats, all the soft drinks and caffeine... I don't know about the diet but the gym definitely made an effect...I believe that anyone can decrease their noise. Next summer I think I'm gonna try scenar treatment...looks promising

Hi Andy, the reason I don't change my diet is because I have found no difference in stopping caffeine, alcohol, sugar etc, plus life would be pretty dull without a lovely cup of tea/coffee or a nice pint of beer or 4. The exercise part, I find my tinnitus is louder after a long walk, only for an hour after, that's why I have been put off running etc, increased circulation of blood in the ear maybe making it worse for a while. But that is just in my case, everybody is different, people do what is best for them.

One of my friend got permanent increase in his T after got very drunk. He got his T from benzo w/d and I think his T got worse since alcohol and benzos are doing their things on the same GABA receptors.

One of my friend got permanent increase in his T after got very drunk. He got his T from benzo w/d and I think his T got worse since alcohol and benzos are doing their things on the same GABA receptors.

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people with a history of benzo use probably process alcohol differently, long term. I don't drink to intoxication anymore.

I've drank plenty with T, and in my case it helps put it in the background while imbibing, but in the morning the anxiety and perception can increase temporarily. I've observed no long term effects.

Perhaps a greater danger is that your threshold for loud noise shifts when intoxicated, and the response of your tensor tympani muscle is muted. Both of which can lead to more hearing damage if you are intoxicated in a loud environment such as a club or concert.